USS O'Brien DD-725
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USS O'Brien DD-725 seen during World War 2.

 

December 7, 1944: USS O'Brien DD-725 fighting the fires aboard the USS Ward APD-16 at Ormoc Bay,
Leyte, Philippines following a Kamikaze attack. Ward (as DD-139) had fired the first shots of the Pacific War
on Dec. 7, 1941 when she sank one of the Japanese midget submarines approaching the entrance to
Pearl Harbor. The Ward could not be saved and under orders of the Commander of TG 78.3,
Cmdr. Outerbridge of the O'Brien used his guns to sink the Ward. In a strange twist of fate Outerbridge had
been the Commanding Officer of the Ward on Dec. 7, 1941 when the Japanese submarine was sunk.

 

December 15, 1944: USS O'Brien DD-725 fighting fires on the USS LST-472 following a Kamikaze attack off
Mindoro Island, Philippines. O'Brien removed 198 survivors from the LST. The USS Hopewell DD-681
can be seen in the smoke.

 

The officers of the USS O'Brien DD-725 seen in 1944. Cmdr. William W. Outerbridge is seated third from the left.

(Photo courtesy of Roy C. Thomas USN)

 



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Class Overview
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